What A Scary Start To The Morning

[la_samtyr]

Because I was only half awake when I read this, I thought I read *90* minutes instead of only 9. That's still bad enough, and why oh why do I still *just know* there are 90 more minutes waiting to be released? (Probably for the 10th anniversary edition of the super-duper ultra-ultra-special deluxe director's cut.)

Off now to recover from a bout of heart failure.

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/avatar-dvd-and-blu-ray-to-include-an-even-longer-cut-of-the-film?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ropeofsilicon%2Fheadlines+%28RopeofSilicon%3A+Latest+Headlines%29&utm_content=LiveJournal

'Avatar' DVD and Blu-ray to Include an Even Longer Cut of the Film

Nine new minutes in theaters and another seven more at home
By: Brad Brevet
Published: Tuesday, August 24th 2010 at 12:01 PM

This weekend Avatar returns to theaters with an additional 9 minutes of new footage with what is being dubbed Avatar: Special Edition. The film is expected to make its way into over 700 traditional and IMAX 3D theaters around the country, and I actually hope to catch it as I never did get a chance to see it in IMAX. And as I told you when the "Special Edition" was announced, the box-office totals for this re-release will be added to Avatar's domestic ($749,766,139) and worldwide records ($2,740,405,721).

While there's been talk of Avatar 2 and perhaps even a third film, Cameron has been quoted saying, "I'm trying to use the technology to keep people interested and enthused about the Avatar universe, because it's going to be a long time before we get another Avatar movie done." So, this may be your last chance to visit Pandora in theaters for quite some time, though there is even more Pandora to see in November.

In a new article at the Associated Press, Cameron says that while the new theatrical cut of Avatar will have an additional nine minutes of footage, the upcoming November special edition DVD and Blu-ray release "will also include a more expanded, 'alternate reality version' of the film that is 16 minutes longer than the original." Unfortunately, there is no elaboration on what the "alternate reality" version actually entails.

This would place the running time for the Collector's Edition DVD and Blu-ray around 178 minutes, two minutes shy of three hours.

Cameron reiterates what we already know about the sequel saying it will focus on the planet's ocean environment. He adds, "I love diving, and if I'm making this movie, I'm not going to be diving as much as I'd like, so I'm going to give myself a kind of methadone fix by doing fantasy ocean."

There is also mention of the converting of Titanic to 3D with hopes of releasing it in theaters in April 2012, the 100-year anniversary of its sailing and sinking.

I've added the trailer for the Avatar: Special Edition just below. Are you planning on checking it out again, or for the first time?

Comments

[spiced-wine.livejournal.com]

"I'm trying to use the technology to keep people interested and enthused about the Avatar universe,

I saw Avatar and I am really impressed with the CGI and all that. I also loved the colors. It was stunningly beautiful and reminded me of playing a game way back called Echo the Dolphin on the Sega, where all I wanted to do was swim through different seas, not actually play the game. But plots and characters really get me interested, not wonderful *technology* - that does enable people like Cameron and Peter Jackson to put us into *another world*, but without plots and strong actors...:\ Pandemonium mentioned once seeing a *BBC Earth* series on Pandora, with David Attenborough narrating, and I would love that. There is actually so much Cameron could do with 'Pandora', but if he is just going to concentrate on how much he can do with technology they'll be stunning-looking films with weak plots.

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I did love most of the special effects and I loved that they actually went to the trouble of creating a complete language for the Na'vi. If only they had spent a fraction of that same time and effort on the story! There was so much that could have and should have been done with the Na'vi and their world. Sadly though, Mr. Cameron is missing the point.

[spiced-wine.livejournal.com]

There was so much that could have and should have been done with the Na'vi and their world. Sadly though, Mr. Cameron is missing the point.

Yes, exactly. He kind of lost me with that sentence. He really is missing the point, sam, you're so right. Of course the films will still earn mega-bucks, but perhaps naively I believe directors should want to produce enthralling stories. There'll probably be better fanfic written of Pandora than anything Cameron could envisage. I love the world-building, but I bet other people will play in it better than he does.

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

You are so right. The technology is great and cool and a lot of fun but ultimately, it's the *characters* that keep us coming back.